1. We Live New York (WLNY) is a statewide organization of young leaders that seeks to attract and retain
young talent across New York State. WLNY replaces the “Young Leaders Congress,” formed in 2007.
WLNY is organized as a coalition of emerging leaders, representing diverse backgrounds, dedicated to
improving quality of life in New York State and promoting New York as an attractive place to live, work,
and learn. It serves as: (1) a convener of young professional organizations across the State,
collaborating to provide a statewide voice among young leaders; (2) an organization seeking to create a
culture that fosters innovation among different geographic regions through communication and
strategic partnerships; and (3) an organization addressing issues of importance to the emerging
leadership in New York State.
Over the last six years, 40 Below has worked to connect, empower, and engage young professionals in
CenterState New York. Through the efforts of more than 2,500 young professionals involved in the
organization 40 Below has successfully:
• Hosted five regional Summits—attracting over 3,000 total participants
• Placed more than 250 young professionals in leadership positions with local not-for-profits
throughout the community
• Engaged hundreds of volunteers in dozens of civic-minded activities
• Spun out Adapt CNY, Inc., an independent 501(c)3 organization that raised more than $1
million towards the redevelopment of the vacant Wilson Building in the heart of Downtown
Syracuse
• Created and launched a Syracuse branding campaign, “It’s All Here”, to increase pride,
retain talent, and instill self-esteem in current residents of Syracuse
• Transformed an abandoned train yard into Lipe Art Park, Syracuse’s first art park, and
installed public art projects throughout the City of Syracuse
• Partnered with regional and statewide leadership groups—including Pipeline 4 Progress, the
New York State Urban Council, and We Live New York—to catalyze the growth of additional
young professional groups across the state, provide valuable internship opportunities for
high school and college students, and assist existing young professional groups in revitalizing
their community’s urban centers.
2. Pipeline 4 Progress (P4P) is a think tank and public forum dedicated to creating, attracting, and retaining
talented individuals to the Southern Tier of Upstate New York.
P4P takes special interest in the 40-below demographic by keeping them connected to their community,
business, and political leaders. It also serves as a public forum for those leaders by making them more
accessible to the residents they serve.
Established in Corning, NY in 2006, a major focus for P4P is to assist in the attraction and retention of
talent in the organization’s 13-county region. Today P4P is developing, implementing, partnering,
fostering, building, growing, cultivating… initiatives to engage and connect community stakeholders—
this is an important piece to attracting and retaining talent.